Common Name:

General Information

Alchornea hirtella is a spindly, climbing to straggling shrub or small tree that can grow up to 9 metres, sometimes even to 12 metres tall[]. The plant occasionally develops into a much-branched tree up to 15 metres tall[].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine, also supplying material for basket making, plant supports and construction.

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Tropical Africa - Senegal to Uganda and Kenya, south to Angola, Zambia, Mozambique and S. Africa.

Habitat

The spray zone of waterfalls; often gregarious in the understorey of evergreen forest; it is also found in secondary forest and riverine forest; sometimes also in associated bushland; at elevations from 400 - 2,500 metres[].

Properties

Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Shrub
Height	6.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Self-fertile	No
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

A fast growing plant[].
This species is usually dioecious, in which case both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required[].

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal

A decoction of the aerial parts is taken to treat ovarian trouble and gastro-intestinal afflictions[]. An infusion of the leaves and stem pith is taken as an anti-cough agent and is locally applied as an antiseptic[]. The leaves are chewed to treat toothache, and the leaf sap is swallowed to treat diarrhoea[].
The dried and powdered leaves, soaked in water, are applied as a poultice to heal broken limbs[]. The leaf sap is inhaled through the nose or applied to scarifications on the temples to treat headache[].

An infusion of the inflorescences is taken to expel worms[].

Bark scrapings, ground with white lime, are applied to treat river blindness[].

A root decoction is taken as a sedative to treat pain; the sap is also topically applied[]. The decoction is also used as a purgative and to treat stomach-ache. Root scrapings are chewed to treat tiredness after intoxication[].

The dried root bark yields 1.5 mg/g crude alkaloids and the dried stem bark 0.15 mg/g, both with the imidazopyrimidine alkaloid alchorneine as major component[]. Alchorneine causes parasympathic paralysis of autonomous ganglions because of its strong inhibition of both the vagus nerve and intestinal peristalsis[].

Other Uses

This species is one of the most favoured sources of bean stakes[]. The stakes quickly form roots[].

A branch split in 2 or 3 is used as a rim in basketry[]

The branches are used in house construction[].
Sometimes the wood is used as firewood[].

Propagation

Seed -

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